An independent watchdog to oversee funding for scientific research in China will be formed by the country's Ministry of Science and Technology, it was reported today.

Another glorious five-year plan

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An independent watchdog to oversee funding for scientific research in China will be formed by the country's Ministry of Science and Technology, it was reported today.

The move follows high-profile academic scandals earlier this year that turned China's innovation and research efforts into a laughing stock.

Shanghai Jiaotong University dismissed the dean of its School of Microelectronics after he passed off remarked Freescale microchips as his own original research. In March, a professor from China's Tsinghua University, one of the country's top institutions of higher learning, was removed from his position for faking his academic credentials.

The Ministry will introduce regulations regarding the use of scientific funding, along with evaluation of research by third parties, according to state media.

China's 11th five-year plan - the central government's roadmap of the country's goals and resource allocations for that period - includes an emphasis on "independent innovation", designed to make China less dependent on foreign technology standards. The 11th plan was approved in March by the National People's Congress, China's primary law-making body.